Cambodia questions the safety of chemical pesticides and fertilizers

The Phnom Penh Post reports that research from the Cambodian Centre for the Study and Development in Agriculture (CEDAC) suggests widespread use of chemical pesticides and fertilizers throughout the country's agricultural sector. Most of the chemicals are imported, and only 5% of rice farmers who routinely use pesticides on their crops would be willing to switch from chemical to natural fertilizers, said a CEDAC official.

Keam Makarady, director of CEDAC's Environment and Health Program, said the research highlighted the need for the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries to closely regulate the import of chemical fertilizers -- 51% of which come from Vietnam, 37% from Thailand, 4% from India, and 1% from China.

According to CEDAC research, in 2008 some 147 types of chemical fertilizers were available at markets in Cambodia. CEDAC claims that between 40 and 50 of these fertilizers were considered harmful to farmers and consumers of the crops. "At present, at least 30 companies are importing poisons into Cambodia, but we do not know how many of them are legal," said Makarady.

Ministry of Agriculture guidelines mandate that all chemical importers must translate instruction labels into Khmer to prevent misuse. However, CEDAC estimates that as many as 90% of Cambodian farmers may have still inadvertently poisoned themselves. The Ministry of Agriculture is promoting the use of "traditional," or natural, methods to fight insects. A ministry official who requested anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the press, said it had been trying to promote natural fertilizers through a combination of "model farm" projects and an educational campaign involving public forums and television and radio spots.

Phin Rady, chief of water and soil quality management in the Environment Ministry's Department of Pollution Control, said he believes "too much use of poison may soon make the land become less and less fertile. When it rains," he added, "the poisons will flow with the rain into irrigation systems and then into the rivers. Consequently, aquatic creatures and people who drink water from the rivers will get poisoned."